


I'm a Poor Lonesome Cowboy

by MudkipBrony



Series: Persona Rarepair Week - 2020 [8]
Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Western, Bandits & Outlaws, Country & Western, F/M, Gang AU, Gunshot Wounds, Horses, Implied Sexual Content, Kou is a dangerous drunk, Partial Nudity, Personas are horses, Red Dead Redemption 2 Map, Western, heavily implied sexual content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:13:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27805147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MudkipBrony/pseuds/MudkipBrony
Summary: In relationships people tend to love someone up to a point. Kou on the other hand will follow Chie to the ends of the earth. Even if that means he lives with a bunch of outlaw criminals.
Relationships: Ichijo Kou/Satonaka Chie, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Persona Rarepair Week - 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026759





	I'm a Poor Lonesome Cowboy

**Author's Note:**

> Day 7: Soulmate/Study Session/Free Day
> 
> Part 3 of this trilogy. I had a dream last night where Chie was in a rodeo. I'm not writing about that because I never seen a rodeo and I'm not about to do twenty hours of research for something I'll never do again. BUT! That did remind me of something, one of my original Persona Western AU had Kou living with the gang. I scrapped it because I can't imagine, realistically, Chie being okay with her boyfriend living with her and a bunch of outlaws who could die at any time. But because I had a wild west dream, I thought this would be a fitting conclusion to Persona Rarepair Week.

"BREAKFAST!"

"Damnit Ginko!"

"Move out of the way!"

"Slow down Futaba."

"Hurry up Inari!"

"Katsuya we need to talk..."

"BROWN!"

"Did anyone see Fuuka?"

"Koromaru is very excited for his meal."

"Looking for your girlfriend Shinji?"

"Where is Naoya?"

"STUPID CAT!"

Everyone was talking all at once, the sun's rays made their way through the canvas tent causing Kou grabbed his pillow and put it over his face. _Don't make me get up..._ He was tired, hungry, and god damn his head hurt.

"Kou..."

The man didn't move, he desperately didn't want to get up. Can he have one day to sleep in with his girlfriend?

Chie mumbled into his back, "Kou get up..."

"Five more minutes," he mumbled back.

WOOF!

_Not Muku, anything but Muku..._

The dog in question burst into the tent and jumped onto his owner. "Muku! Stop! Get off!" Chie shouted at the dog.

But the dog in question did not let up, he just kept licking his owners face. Kou sat up, only now realizing he was butt naked but now wasn't the time for that. He tried to push the dog off Chie but the dogs wagging tail kept smacking him in the face. "Muku, down boy!"

"Chosokabe!" Came a voice from outside.

_Shit._

When Yukiko walks into the tent Muku runs around the former innkeeper and into the rest of the campgrounds. Yukiko stared at the couple on the floor, sure there was a blanket that covered up the nasty bits, it still didn't hide the fact that they were naked. The tent was silent, the only sounds coming from outside the tent.

"Snnk."

"Yukiko..."

Yukiko began to laugh. When Kou first met Yukiko a few years ago he thought she was very calm and reserved. Of course, since then he learned that while she was calm most of the time, she was a fun person to be around. Except when she started laughing... Chie threw a pillow at her friend and casted her out. Yukiko receded but her laughing could still be heard no matter how far away from their tent she got.

With a groan Kou stood up and searched for something to wear. "What happened last night?"

"Well," Chie started as she got dressed, "The gang celebrated getting Sumire-chan back from Saint Denis and you got drunk-"

"I was not-"

"You were!" She threw some pants at Kou's back. "And you got the bright idea to fight Akihiko. One punch was all it took to knock you out, thank god he didn't hit your face. I keep telling you, Drunk Kou is a danger to society and to yourself."

"You didn't want my beautiful face to get damaged?"

"No because- sure let's go with that."

* * *

The gang had a lot of horses. No matter where Kou stepped there was a good chance there was horse poop on the ground. Thank god he found his work boots...

Kou liked taking care of the horses, it was the one thing he contributed to the gang. Even though Junpei's wife did almost nothing, she still looted corpses and put their money into The Box. Kou, on the other hand, tried to stay as far away from the fighting and violence as much as possible. Besides the fact that Chie would never let him get close enough to the action taking care of the horses was a dangerous job if someone didn't know what they were doing. He still gets nightmares about the kid who had his skull smashed in because he thought it was a good idea to scare a horse. The thought of that kids brains everywhere still sends a shiver down his spine.

At one-point Kanji came by to take care of his horse, Take-Mikazuchi. The two didn't have much to bond over, but they had a mutual respect for one another, both getting picked on a lot for having weird interests. "You got something on your neck," Kanji told him.

"What? I do?"

"Yeah. Next time can you and Chie senpai not be so loud?" The tall man said before saddling up his horse for a ride.

Kou placed a hand on his neck, _Did... did Chie leave a-_

"Ichijo-san!"

The horse keeper turned to see two blonds coming his way. One blond by birth, the other blond by paint. _Those Phantom Thief kids_ _right?_

"Yes? Do you need something?" He said to the approaching teens.

"You know a lot about horses, right?" The girl asked, Takamaki-san was it?

Kou nodded, removing his hand, and hiding the mark on his neck under his bandanna. "Yes, I like to think I do."

"I was wondering if you had any... suggestions," The other blond asked. Ryuji, he knew the kids name because someone was always screaming it.

"Suggestions? Like specific breeds?"

"Yeah that!"

"Ryuji's horse died a few days ago and he needs to buy a new one," Takamaki explained.

"You don't just tell people that!" Ryuji shouted.

Kou could already feel his heart breaking, being around horses for so long made him love them like they were family. Whenever he heard that someone's horse got killed due to violence or left to die... he didn't know how people got through the day. "I'm sorry your horse died. If you're looking for a strong mount, I know a guy near Van Horn who sells Strawberry Roans. They're slow but tough."

The boy sat on a bale of hay while Takamaki leaned against one of the hitching posts. "How do you know so much about horses?"

Kou shrugged. "I learned how to handle them from my time at the auction house in Valentine, sometime the local stable would try to auction off some horses that's where I learned the basics. The rest I got from experience, watching other kids make dumb decisions around horses. But also from my own horse."

"Why would you have a horse? You don't go anywhere," Ryuji said, earning a smack on the back of the head from Takamaki.

As if the horse knew they were talking about him, Kou's horse, Umisachihiko, emerged from the herd of horses scattered about. The Tennessee Walker went up to Kou and started to graze as Kou approached and started rubbing the horses back. "Yeah, this fella. I got him as a gift, he's been with me so long he knows when I'm talking about him," Kou explained.

"Why doesn't Carmen do that?" Takamaki asked.

"Well, you have to take care of her. Feed her, groom her, take her out on rides. You can't just bring a horse into battle without bonding with it. Sure, it'll hurt less if the horse gets hurt, but the bond the two of you share will not only make the horse stronger but you as well. If that makes sense..."

"Wow... hey, maybe that's why Kidd died Ryuji."

"DON'T-"

* * *

Kou heaved the second to last bale of hay onto his shoulder. All these horses meant so _so_ many bales of hay. "Alright, almost done Ichijo. Almost-"

"Oof-"

Kou glanced to his right and saw Chie picking up the last bale of hay. "Thanks, just put that over by the Belgian Draft, the Appaloosa, and the Shire." He knew that Chie wasn't going to back down.

"Kou I don't speak horse."

"Mot, Arsene and Hades," Kou repeated.

As Chie carried the hay away he swore he heard her mutter, "Coulda just said that..."

* * *

"And begged the devil to stop the train!" Kotone and Ulala sang.

It was rare for the gang to eat all together. Most days the gang would split off into their little groups. The Phantom Thieves all ate together, the original gang members all ate in Naoya's tent, most days Kou just ate near the horses or with the Investigation Team. But since the Phantom Thieves got Sumire back a few days ago moral was still high. But the moment someone bust out the liquor Chie swatted it away from Kou and Yukiko.

He looked around the campfire and where everyone else would see a group of dangerous criminals, he saw people. Happy people, people with trauma, people in mourning and people in love. He saw Muku and Koromaru gnawing on some bones Eikichi threw to them. He saw Morgana getting pet by Futaba as Yusuke drew the scene in front of him. He saw Rise pulling Yu up to dance and Yukari dance around with Aigis. Katsuya and Tatsuya nodded along to the tune. Yukiko and Haru singing along, off key but still sounding right. It was beautiful.

He sat on the ground near the fire, welcoming the warmth like the hug of an old friend. He felt Chie put her head on his shoulder. "Tired?" He whispered.

"A bit. Someone gave Yukiko whiskey..."

When everyone started to disperse to do their own things before bed Chie grabbed Kou's hand and dragged him back to their shared tent. She looked back at him, he nodded at her, he didn't mind it when she was rough with him. She grinned and shoved him into their tent.

* * *

The next morning Kou woke up alone, naked, and afraid. It was quiet, too quiet. He quickly got dressed and went outside, the first thing he noticed was that the horses were gone. Except a few draft horses used for the wagons everyone else's was gone.

"Good morning Ichijo-kun!"

The blue haired man turned around and was greeted by Fuuka, the gang's herbalist. "Where did everyone go?"

"They went on a robbery, all of them. Supposedly it's a big heist," she said, "Actually I could use your help."

He did not like where this was going.

* * *

Kou knew the risks of joining the gang. He knew that someone was going to get hurt. He did not expect this...

Kou rushed around, tent to tent, armfuls of bandages and whatever kind of alcohol he could find. He entered one tent; poor Ryuji broke his leg. Another tent, Yukino was putting Reiji's fingers in place. Poor Baofu didn't make it back to camp.

Yukari ran up to Kou and grabbed one of the bottles from his hands before dashing off to another tent. Tents made for sleeping became medical tents, the healthy running in and out and everywhere in between making sure everyone stayed alive. He didn't know where Chie was...

"Kou, give me a hand!" Someone called out.

As Futaba was running by Kou stopped her and dumped his materials into her arms before going to help who needed him. Was it Kotone? No one knew where she-

"You can cry later just help me out!" Yosuke shouted at him.

Yosuke forcibly placed Chie in Kou's arms. _She... can't be_...Kou's thoughts spiraled out of control; into deep places he never wanted his mind to go.

"She's alive she just has a bullet in her arm," Yosuke explained leading Kou to Chie's tent. "She'll keep her arm if we get it out soon enough. WHERE THE HELL IS TED?"

They entered the tent and Kou laid Chie down on her mat. She was still awake, hell she was staring right at him. "I'm sorry, damn Pinkertons surprised us. Kou I-"

"I know."

A young blond man burst into the tent with a bag. No words were exchanged, he tossed the bag to Yosuke before someone else called the boy's name. As Yosuke quickly shuffled through the bag he told Kou, "Take her shirt off."

"W-what-"

"Oh and make sure she drinks lots of whiskey."

"I-I know just-"

"Well she might kill me if I do it!"

"Sorry Chie..."

The woman was surprisingly willing despite the fact that it meant she would be half nude in front of Yosuke. Kou searched the trunk in the tent for the bottle of rye whiskey he kept in there before handing it to Chie who drank every last drop like it was nothing. "This isn't my first rodeo."

"Alright lean back," Yosuke instructed, "This is going to hurt... just try not to punch me."

When Yosuke pulled out the pliers and started digging in the hole in Chie's arm, her scream was in tune with the suffering of those around them. He never wanted to hear the sound ever again.

* * *

Kou had to change the bandages every few hours. Yosuke managed to save Chie's arm, getting the bullet out just in time. But just as he did, he left to help some other soul in danger. But that was hours ago.

It was quiet now. Most of the injured somehow managed to fall asleep, Chie was a bit tipsy thanks to all the whiskey she had (she drank at least two and a half bottles) but it numbed the pain. Kou didn't want to be anywhere but her side, but he knew he had to check on the others soon. Despite Fuuka and Naoya telling him not to worry about it, to stay by his girlfriend's side, he couldn't let the others suffer alone.

"There, all clean," Kou said, tying up the bandage. He shoved the bloodies bandages into his pocket and laid Chie down in her mat.

"Noooooo, stay," she whined.

"I'll be right back. Just stay here," He said.

As he got up and left the tent he heard a small "Noooo, come baaaaack." as he walked away.

He briefly made his way around camp, but Fuuka and Rise seemed to be on top of everything at the moment. Just in case he checked all the injured one last time, even Ulala who wasn't injured physically but was very distraught over Baofu's sudden death. Kou passed one of the tables and saw Naoto, Akechi, Shinjiro, and Eikichi singing to a sad tune.

"I'm a Poor Lonesome Cowboy a long way from home," One of them sang.

Kou made his way back to his and Chie's tent, ignoring the sounds of the coyotes and caws of crows. Entering the tent Kou was glad to see Chie fell asleep, she didn't look peaceful as he hoped she'd be. Still, he lied down next to the woman and put an arm around her, pulling her in close. Chie wasn't going anywhere; Kou was going to make sure of that.

"'m sorry," she mumbled.

"Shh, I know. I know," he whispered in her ear.

"'m not going nowhere... 'm not leaving you Kou..."

"I know."

"I love you."

He smiled. "I love you too."

She rolled over wincing because she was on her bad arm. "Take of your shirt."

"Chie, go to sleep."

"Take of yer shirt."

Kou sighed and sat up. "Fine."

He lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it into the darkness. That's when he felt Chie get up and get up and hugged him from behind. " _My_ man..."


End file.
